Rand Paul: “Poor People Don’t Have Money Because They Don’t Work Hard Like The Rest Of Us”

Asked if his flat tax plan would further separate the haves from the have-nots, GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) said Sunday that income inequality is the result of some Americans working harder than others, rather than economic policies. “The thing is, income inequality is due to some people working harder and selling more things,” Paul told host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” “If people voluntarily buy more of your stuff, you’ll have more money.”

Paul has proposed what he calls a “flat and fair tax,” which would put a flat 14.5 percent tax on all types of income. An analysis by the Tax Foundation found that under the plan, households earning more than $1 million per year would see their after-tax incomes rise by 13 percent. Households’ earnings between $50,000 and $75,000 per year, meanwhile, would see their after-tax income rise only by 3 percent.

“Doesn’t your plan massively increase income inequality?” Wallace asked. “It’s a fallacious notion to say, ‘Oh, rich people get more money back in a tax cut,’” Paul responded. “If you cut taxes 10 percent, 10 percent of a million is more than 10 percent of a thousand dollars. So, obviously, people who pay more in taxes will get more back.” “We all end up working for people who are more successful than us,” Paul went on, “and that’s a good thing, that more money will be back in the economy.”

Flat tax proposals, which are popular with the tea party crowd, have a way of popping up during Republican presidential primary sessions. In addition to Paul, Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) has proposed moving to a flat tax rate and abolishing the IRS. Back in 2012, the flat tax banner was carried by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Herman Cain, who drew national attention with his “9-9-9” flat tax plan.

There is a difference between paying equal percentage of taxes and a fair percentage of taxes. And if not working hard is why people are poor, members of Congress should be the poorest people in the country. I sure wish I could only work 113 days a year.

There is a difference between paying equal percentage of taxes and a fair percentage of taxes. And if not working hard is why people are poor, members of Congress should be the poorest people in the country. I sure wish I could only work 113 days a year.

If it’s a tax plan, and it’s proposed by a Teapublican’t, you KNOW the poor and Middle class will get screwed and the wealthy will make out like bandits. After 35 years of Teapublican’ts “trickle down” BS, you can guarantee it.

If it’s a tax plan, and it’s proposed by a Teapublican’t, you KNOW the poor and Middle class will get screwed and the wealthy will make out like bandits. After 35 years of Teapublican’ts “trickle down” BS, you can guarantee it.

The biggest most obvious fallacy here should be that “if the rich have more money, it goes into the economy.” Centralizing money into a handful of people does not get it spread about. You’ve got one guy who needs one, maybe three cars, a jet or two, a boat, some security and two or three big fancy houses. That doesn’t boost the economy as much as fifty million people buying cars and houses. Rob the rich and feed the poor already for God’s sake. We all know who the hero was in that tale, so why are so many falling for the prince John b.s. again?

Most poor people i know are working their asses off, two or more jobs, because their employers pay them starvation wages. I would like to see you (and all others spouting your BS) work 60 hrs or more, on $7.50 an hour and live on it for a year. Find a safe place to live, pay bills, have a decent diet, and then pray you don’t get sick, or your car doesn’t break down.

Most poor people i know are working their asses off, two or more jobs, because their employers pay them starvation wages. I would like to see you (and all others spouting your BS) work 60 hrs or more, on $7.50 an hour and live on it for a year. Find a safe place to live, pay bills, have a decent diet, and then pray you don’t get sick, or your car doesn’t break down.

For a guy who daddy made sure that HE would NEVER have to break a sweat doing hard labor to earn a living he sure thinks he knows an awful LOT about those who actually DO break a sweat doing that hard labor. Just ask ANY agricultural worker just how hard they work. They have worked harder by 8 AM than HE has his entire lifetime! If HARD work was the determining factor between wealth and poverty then HE would be as poor as a church mouse and his gardenr would be a billionaire!

For a guy who daddy made sure that HE would NEVER have to break a sweat doing hard labor to earn a living he sure thinks he knows an awful LOT about those who actually DO break a sweat doing that hard labor. Just ask ANY agricultural worker just how hard they work. They have worked harder by 8 AM than HE has his entire lifetime! If HARD work was the determining factor between wealth and poverty then HE would be as poor as a church mouse and his gardenr would be a billionaire!

There are maybe a couple of handfuls of people each year who make it big by busting ass. VERY few. But once they reach a certain point, they make more money by NOT working ( = capital gains) than they ever could by working. And due to the decimation of the estate tax, their spawn get to make oodles by playing with the bux they’re born with, somehow believing that it is through some superiority of theirs that wealth accretes, instead of their being obscenely lucky to begin with and their benefitting hugely from a warped system that only favors those on their side of the financial divide.

It is always the richest who favor the “flat tax”. And save for their deluded and indebted middle class pets (their lap dogs and their pit bulls), who mistakenly believe that their interests are isomorphic with those of the rich, it is only the truly rich who support the notion. And I’m not talking about “rich” meaning making a quarter mil a year — I’m talking about those who can wipe their asses with that.

Glad he’s out of the race. That doesn’t mean those ideas are dead, though. Unfortunately….

There are maybe a couple of handfuls of people each year who make it big by busting ass. VERY few. But once they reach a certain point, they make more money by NOT working ( = capital gains) than they ever could by working. And due to the decimation of the estate tax, their spawn get to make oodles by playing with the bux they’re born with, somehow believing that it is through some superiority of theirs that wealth accretes, instead of their being obscenely lucky to begin with and their benefitting hugely from a warped system that only favors those on their side of the financial divide.

It is always the richest who favor the “flat tax”. And save for their deluded and indebted middle class pets (their lap dogs and their pit bulls), who mistakenly believe that their interests are isomorphic with those of the rich, it is only the truly rich who support the notion. And I’m not talking about “rich” meaning making a quarter mil a year — I’m talking about those who can wipe their asses with that.

Glad he’s out of the race. That doesn’t mean those ideas are dead, though. Unfortunately….

I think one key point that Mr. Paul overlooks is that their are many people that are not consumed with greed.I personally view avarice as a mental sickenss born from insecurity.
Sometimes things/life seems so complicated it is difficult to get a grasp on how we got here ,I often find myself thinking back to the pioneer days,like ‘Little House on the Praire’,when people would build their little Homestead,a bunch of hardworking people just trying to have a simple life,then along comes some greedy swine that wants MORE land,cattle etc. then the rest of the bunch,he diverts water,hires some bootlickers to help him run the honest people off.The ‘swine’ ally’s with the local banker and usually a crooked lawyer and Sherrif and soon the honest,hardworking people are driven off their land or murdered .
So this is how the few have come to own so much,not due to their inherent ‘hardwork’,but rather due to their mental sickness and complete disregard for their brothers and sisters.
Of course their are exceptions to this/not saying ALL that prosper are evil doers .Maybe it’s no so much ‘what you have’ ,but ‘how’ you get it and what you do with it,you can be a ‘Sol and Robert Price (COSTCO founders) or a Walton ( Walmart founders ).
In my family (siblings ) we seem to be split near evenly,with half having the attitude ‘ I have some and it’s ok /and I SHOULD help others’ and half the ‘ I have mine,you get yours”.I do not know if it is a coincidence or not,but in my family the ones with the latter attitude are the miserable ones.

I think one key point that Mr. Paul overlooks is that their are many people that are not consumed with greed.I personally view avarice as a mental sickenss born from insecurity.
Sometimes things/life seems so complicated it is difficult to get a grasp on how we got here ,I often find myself thinking back to the pioneer days,like ‘Little House on the Praire’,when people would build their little Homestead,a bunch of hardworking people just trying to have a simple life,then along comes some greedy swine that wants MORE land,cattle etc. then the rest of the bunch,he diverts water,hires some bootlickers to help him run the honest people off.The ‘swine’ ally’s with the local banker and usually a crooked lawyer and Sherrif and soon the honest,hardworking people are driven off their land or murdered .
So this is how the few have come to own so much,not due to their inherent ‘hardwork’,but rather due to their mental sickness and complete disregard for their brothers and sisters.
Of course their are exceptions to this/not saying ALL that prosper are evil doers .Maybe it’s no so much ‘what you have’ ,but ‘how’ you get it and what you do with it,you can be a ‘Sol and Robert Price (COSTCO founders) or a Walton ( Walmart founders ).
In my family (siblings ) we seem to be split near evenly,with half having the attitude ‘ I have some and it’s ok /and I SHOULD help others’ and half the ‘ I have mine,you get yours”.I do not know if it is a coincidence or not,but in my family the ones with the latter attitude are the miserable ones.

What economic theory is he using. How much you are paid has nothing to do with how hard you work but on the demand for what you can do. Even that leaves out the micro level as it leaves out flexibility of work force, opportunity, power, luck, abilities, prejudice, nepotism, etc. How hard you work? Not much.

What economic theory is he using. How much you are paid has nothing to do with how hard you work but on the demand for what you can do. Even that leaves out the micro level as it leaves out flexibility of work force, opportunity, power, luck, abilities, prejudice, nepotism, etc. How hard you work? Not much.

This fallacy that tax money going into government takes it out of the economy, and tax breaks put it back into circulation, would be just silly if it weren’t so pernicious. Taxes don’t go into some vault somewhere and collect dust; they fund jobs, research, infrastructure projects, etc. If money ends up locked up and not funding the economy it’s when it’s in the hands of the wealthy – people or corporations – which do NOT necessarily reinvest it. Why is this such a hard concept to get across to Americans?

This fallacy that tax money going into government takes it out of the economy, and tax breaks put it back into circulation, would be just silly if it weren’t so pernicious. Taxes don’t go into some vault somewhere and collect dust; they fund jobs, research, infrastructure projects, etc. If money ends up locked up and not funding the economy it’s when it’s in the hands of the wealthy – people or corporations – which do NOT necessarily reinvest it. Why is this such a hard concept to get across to Americans?

All you need to do is suck up to Rant, and give him the hide off a freshly skinned Mexican or Negro carcass, as a love offering. Then you too could make millions doing practically nothing, while offshoring jobs to China, and telling your screaming baboon fan club that poor people are stupid and lazy.

All you need to do is suck up to Rant, and give him the hide off a freshly skinned Mexican or Negro carcass, as a love offering. Then you too could make millions doing practically nothing, while offshoring jobs to China, and telling your screaming baboon fan club that poor people are stupid and lazy.

what do we care what some privledges 1%’er asshat has to say? time to clean house folks….. what will it take our republican brothers and sisters to realize what contempt their representatives have towards them? we answer that question we actually have a chance to fix this fucked up country.

The man has not truly worked a day in his life, has had everything handed to him on a silver platter, and he is going to tell us about the poor. To him, the poor only make $100,000 a year or less. What an @$$.

Where in this article, apart from the title itself, does it read that Paul said that? I’m not trying to be argumentative, but the article itself, unless I am reading it wrong, does not read anything like the title suggests. True, it says people make more money by working harder and selling more things, but not “poor people don’t have money because they don’t work hard like the rest of us.” Bottom line, if you want more money, work more or find a better job with better pay. If not, keep your current income, and the flat tax would actually be doing you a favor.

We’re not talking about who has stock in the widget company – we’re talking about who makes, sells, processes orders, packs, transports…. the widgets. That’s why Republican politicians are always wrong and Republican voters are always duped – they’re talking about two different groups of “workers”.

My husband work between 50-70 hrs a week would not stay home sick and put money in the company so when he retire he would have his petition an full coverage Insurance only to have a company come Abe steal all there money and now we are paying 900.00 and more out of our petition. We work very hard and I am tire of you politican coming around saying if we don’t have money it is because we did work for it. Oh after working those many hrs at the factory we went and mowed yards to help and I work as a nurses aide so please don’t tell me we didn’t work

I’m disappointed that Rand Paul chose to frame his answer that way. It’s NOT about who works harder, it’s about who produces value. A machinist running a lathe is not working any harder than the person running the deep fryer at McDonald’s, but the machinist is certainly creating more value.

Spending 18 hours a day in an office is not hard work unless you are forced to do it by economic sanctions. If you choose to do it, that does not make it hard work, it merely is dedication to self service.

Poor people don’t have money because their labor is undervalued and they are exploited by the rich who profit from their efforts. It is the rich who do not work hard. How is sitting in meetings and talking on the phone hard work? How is writing contracts which direct monies to you through no effort via lending your money at interest to those poor people? You have forgotten what hard work really is. Farmers work hard. Carpenters work hard. Even burger flippers, maligned as they are, work hard. You? You don’t know what hard work is.

That is the biggest crock of crap I have ever read. No mention of the impact of deductions and loopholes. Sounds like a twist on the trickle down theory, another huge crock of crap. The man must now be considered a bona fide, dyed in the wool Republican. Crony capitalism, otherwise known as fascism, is the real problem here. Then there’s Citizens United, corporate personhood and so on.

So,, the title is in quotes, but Rand didn’t actually say that.
“Asked if his flat tax plan would further separate the haves from the have-nots, GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) said Sunday that income inequality is the result of some Americans working harder than others, rather than economic policies. “The thing is, income inequality is due to some people working harder and selling more things,” Paul told host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” “If people voluntarily buy more of your stuff, you’ll have more money.”
So,, truthfully,, some Americans don’t work harder than others? This is an obvious hit piece to craft the perception that Rand hates the poor. Rand has done free eye surgery for the poor, long before he entered politics, and the flat tax is for families making $50k or more. The flat tax would be a boon to small and medium businesses, while bringing back business from other nations. That would be a major plus for the poor who want to work a decent job.

Increasing the tax rate on a low-income household directly takes away from what the household can spend on necessities. Their standard of living is immediately reduced. Their future standard of living MAY be improved depending on the ROI from their increased tax spending. Their ROI from future investments and savings depends completely on their getting unknowable assistance from somewhere to obtain education, training or to invest in a new business idea.

Increasing the tax rate on a high-income household directly takes away only from what that household can invest or save. Their current standard of living is not affected. Their future standard of living MIGHT be affected, depending on what ROI they get from their increased tax spending, or reduced investments and savings.
…

We’ve had a progressive tax structure since the early part of the 20th century, for good reason. This structure levys a higher tax rate on the more wealthy. The idea is that the wealthy can much better afford a higher tax rate. An equal tax rate across all income ranges results in a much, much higher tax burden on low-income households.

Let’s say the flat rate is 10%. A $1 million household, which might actually spend 20% of its income on necessary items (and gets a much bigger and nicer house than a low-income household), is lightly burdened, $100,000. The $40,000 household, which spends ALL of its income on necessary items because it has to, pays $4,000 – a much higher burden because that household must skimp on many items (health care, home, food, transportation. The low-income household also can’t invest anything because they have nothing left over for investment, therefore they are cut off from that additional income. Also, depending on sales tax rates and rules in their state, they will also be paying an additional $0-$4000 in state and local sales tax. The high income household will pay maybe $0-$20,000 in sales tax, a much higher $ amount but a much lower burden.

Given the above, it’s impossible to say a flat rate is ‘fair’. It depends on how you define fair. Flat-taxers define fair as ‘equal’, which I think I’ve shown is not the same as “equal burden”.

FYI, the marginal tax rate (the rate on investment income above a certain level) has decreased from about 90% during WWWII (good reasons for that), to about 70% under Eisenhower (a universal, bipartisan decision – good reasons: the war was over), to about 40-50% under Reagan (can’t remember the actual #s) to about 34 or 38% under Clinton. Since the Reagan years, the income disparity between high income and low income households has increased exponentially, for a number of reasons. The primary reasons are the lowering of the marginal tax rate, weakening of labor unions and simply demographics – the reduced birth rates after the Baby Boom generation have provided us with relatively fewer tax payers and income generators.

If he would actually think about this and develop a well thought out plan he wouldn’t sound like such an ignoramus when asked questions about it. It makes me think he just threw this out there to get attention. Another example of politicians thinking that most Americans are stupid!

Paul misses something essential to the discussion. The notion that hard work leads, without fail, to financial success is simply false. An increasing number of Americans work multiple jobs and still cannot make ends meet. Paul would have us place the blame for that on those individuals.

Although that is clearly the ESSENCE of what Paul said (as well as what he likely believes, as a well-heeled heel) – I rather cringe when direct quotation marks are employed, as they are in the title of this piece.

In the text of the story (without any link to the actual video or audio to rely on) it reads: ““The thing is, income inequality is due to some people working harder and selling more things,” Paul told host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.””

Nuance perhaps,…but journalistic integrity (granted, something a serial plagiarist like Rand knows little about) – should compel the writer to reserve quotation marks for the EXACT WORDS used by the person to whom they are attributed.

It has been documented that your success lergely depends on how successful your parents are. Donald Trump started off with millions from his .father, multiple deferments and the influence his father helped to provide. Dubya and Jeb have their Grandfather and father to thank. Charles and David Koch’s father was rich and coinservsative and a founder of the Joihn Birch Society. It’s not impossible to succeed, but it’s generally harder. Enough so, that there are few of them, and lots of “US”

The wealthy never consider disposable income when suggesting tax rates. So what is fair to the selfish is not truly fair at all. Why do kids get into events for 1/2 the price of adults… figure that one out Randy and then talk.

A 14.5% flat tax is an increase for the poorest American and even for those that mke more because all deductions would go away so you would be taxed on exactly what you make. Most Americans would be paying more in taxes. The rich would not. Last year I made about $69,000 and I would pay more income taxes under his plan. Did he just forget about this? Also the VAT is more oppressive on the poor and on small business.

He actually never said, “Poor People Don’t Have Money Because They Don’t Work Hard Like The Rest Of Us” … nice hate-baiting title. It’s fine that you don’t agree with him, but why are you blatantly lying?? What he actually said can be seen in the below video (the 6:30 mark is where he talks about taxes) :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvikOYUa4GM

Because Lindsey Lohan has to work so hard that she barely has any time left for community service, and Jeb Bush has to struggle to get by with just 64% of the $29 million he has made since 2007 under the present tax system? How hard did Rand Paul have to work to pay for the college education that has helped to make HIM wealthy?

I am sick to death of hearing that same old tired, worn out, repetitive and insanely moronic phrase “people who work harder make more money”. What a load of crap. These feces flinging monkeys don’t even HEAR what’s being said by the enitre freaking world, “HOW MUCH HARDER CAN A PERSON WITH TWO OR THREE FULL AND PART TIME JOBS WORK? They are working harder than any self-absorbed, money grubbing, idiot ass-hat Republican has ever worked, if you took every Republican in America and counted every job they’ve ever had. Today’s workforce would beat them all hands down, because they have no GD CHOICE!!! They made us poor, they keep us poor, they take away every resource for help we have, then they SHAME US FOR BEING POOR!! How much more of this terroristic abuse do decent Americans have to take at the hands of these HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE people? They are scum.

Dude, nearly half the US working population doesn’t pay income tax now due to credits and deductions, primarily because of credits for low income. What do you think is going to happen when millions of families (who immediately spend ALL of their income) making $40,000 or less a year suddenly go from paying no taxes to paying $6,000 in federal income tax alone?

Conservative, opportunistic and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

This is very inaccurate because it assumes that people have the choice to 1) work hard and be rich; or 2) sit around and do nothing and then be poor; and that people who choose 1) end up being rich because they chose that option. It is way more complicated than that! I remember seeing a photo of women with water containers on their heads and the caption: if working hard = being rich, then these women should be the richest people in the world.

Most of the rich didn’t work they had theirs handed down to them and the poor that do want to work can’t because to many illegals have come over and get a job with familys that talk their boss into hiring them instead of legals citizens that have family in this country

IF hard work paid off like these clowns claim ditch diggers would be the highest paying job in the world,,,,If you are making millions while you are paying the people that actually made it for you PENNIES,,,you are not some job creator ,you are not a buissiness man ,,you are not even a decent human being ,,,YOU ARE A THIEF,,,AND A REAL LOW LIFE TO BOOT.We need to STOP putting these peoples picture on time magazine and acting like they are some kind of role model,,Like a C E O,,,in this country Country – Ratio of Pay CEO : compared to the Average worker–Japan – 11:1–Germany – 12:1–France – 15:1–Italy – 20:1–Canada – 20:1–South Africa – 21:1–Britain – 22:1–Mexico – 47:1–Venezuela – 50:1 and now… UNITED STATES – 475:1…In 1980 USA execs made less than 30 times. A 15 fold plus increase. Still think UNIONS are the problem??????
I have way more respect for Bonnie and Clyde than for P. T. Barnum Bonnie and Clyde were doing to the banks what the banks were doing to the people,,,so was George Nelson(baby face)..While P T Barnum was looking for a SUCKER,,,someone who had LES S than him and take advantage of that person like the preditor that he was
Those floor moppers and ditch diggers know nothing about hard work ,,,it is the C E O sitting in his air condeition office that does all the hard work